


Prompt #1 (90-Prompt Challenge)

by GlitterBombLove



Series: Prompts - 90 Challenge [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Fantasy, Flash Fic, Prompt Fic, Teenagers, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:48:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28023435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlitterBombLove/pseuds/GlitterBombLove
Summary: Prompt #1Genre: FantasyDecember 12, 2020Prompt Idea:She gripped the rim of the porcelain sink and tried to steady her hands."One last time, she whispered to herself.One. Last. Time.Source: tomiadeyemi.com
Series: Prompts - 90 Challenge [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2052597
Kudos: 3





	Prompt #1 (90-Prompt Challenge)

After school was over for the day, Alice walked straight home and lumbered up the stairs to the bathroom. She was already breathing hard from the walk and climbing the steps made her break into a sweat. She felt worn out and knew she should be resting in her bed instead attempting something she should not be doing.

She stepped into the bathroom and switched on the light, and almost gasped when she caught her reflection in the mirror above the sink. Her face was pale as cottage cheese except for the clusters of acne breaking out on her chin and cheeks. Her eyes were faintly bloodshot.

No wonder the people at school kept asking her if she was feeling alright. Her homeroom teacher wanted to send her to the nurse's office but Alice insisted she was fine. She realized she looked as fatigued as she felt on the inside. Her posture was so bent from the weight of her backpack and upper body. She had little energy to stand up straight anymore. 

She gripped the rim of the porcelain sink and tried to steady her hands. 

"One last time," she whispered to herself. 

One. Last. Time.

She dropped her backpack to the ceramic tiled floor. In a slow methodical manner, she ran the bath water in the faucet -- testing it several times with her hand -- until the temperature was perfect. She used a thermometer in the past but she could now get the right temperature without one. The water had to be body temperature. 

She grabbed a small burlap sack and a vial from her pack and placed them on a stool next to the tub. When the water filled the tub to the right volume, she quickly unbuttoned her shirt, yanked off her pants, undergarments and unclothed. A few times, she clutched the wall, feeling dizzy but she was able to continue and slowly ease herself down into the water.

She reached for the burlap bag, untied it and grabbed a fist full of herbs inside and sprinkled them on the water around her. She swirled the bits of leaves, dried petals and other debris. She swore there were strands of hair in there. Some of the colorful flecks bled into the water leaving a pinky hue and a pungent aroma wafted to her nose. The initial scents she could identify - ginger, vanilla and maybe marigolds and grass. But the later notes were a mystery to her - things that were rusty and bitter and unpleasant.

She reached for the vial and uncorked it. The liquid was syrupy and the color of cobalt. Afterwards, it would leave a residue around her lips and tongue like eating a blue popsicle. She took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes. She hated this part. She threw back her head and gulped it quickly. Her fingers went numb. She heard a the sound of broken glass as the vial slipped from her fingers hit the floor and cracked into pieces.

Immediately her body trembled. It felt like ice spearing down her throat and rushing to her heart and all the vessels in her extremities at once. She could barely get her mouth to form words. Her own voice sounded faraway and guttural to her ears. 

"Truvil lonne. T--truvil Lonne." She repeated over and over and over through chattering teeth, translating in her head: forever is a moment. Forever is a moment.

Her heart raced. There was a painful stabbing in her belly button area. She panicked and tried to grip the sides of the tub and pull herself up but her arms were immovable. As the convulsions worsened the water sloshed around her. She felt her eyelids fall and she tried in vain to move. Terror seized her as she slipped below the waterline and sunk under.

An intense light flashed behind her eyelids and her head throbbed in pain. To her relief, instead of gulping and inhaling stinging water, she could feel her lungs filled with fresh cool air. She opened her eyes easily and saw an open sky above. A faint breeze brushed against her cheeks. Birds twittered and flit across the sky. She was back.

One. Last. Time.


End file.
